Kent offshore wind farm gets green light for growth

One of the UK's oldest offshore wind farms is to grow by more than 50 per cent, after the government gave the green light for a 17 turbine extension to the Kent project. Vattenfall's Kentish Flats offshore wind farm currently comprises of 30 Vestas turbines, installed in 2005 and delivering a capacity of 90MW.

In 2010 Vattenfall applied to extend the project by between 10 and 17 turbines providing an additional capacity of 30-51MW, depending on the size of the new machines. The extension was one of five projects authorised as part of the Crown Estate's Round 2.5, which initially hoped to create an additional 1.7GW of capacity. Energy and Climate Change Secretary Ed Davey today gave consent for the development to move forward.

...snip...

In related news, the European Investment Bank (EIB) is considering a €850m loan to fund half the cost of building the 389MW West of Duddon Sands offshore wind farm off the coast of Cumbria. The project, which is owned by ScottishPower Renewables and Dong Energy will comprise of 108 wind turbines and is expected to be operational next year. The EIB yesterday confirmed that it is looking at financing half of the €1.7bn cost of the project.

Meanwhile, a giant Round 3 offshore wind farm planned off the Suffolk coast has moved forward, after developers Vattenfall and ScottishPower Renewables filed for an electricity generation licence.
Ofgem confirmed that East Anglia One Limited applied for the license yesterday. Plans for the 325 turbine wind farm were formally submitted to the government at the end of last year. Stakeholders can register to become an interested party until 7 March.